The Language Use and Grammar Curmudgeon

Ocean City Ravioli's

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 12:37:12 GMT

My husband and I went to Ocean City, NJ this past weekend. We went to The Chatterbox, a great restaurant. But BOY they can't spell. They had "Fried Ravioli's," "Eggs Benidict," and "Chicken Flourentine" on their list of specials.

"Ravioli" is already plural. You don't have to add an "s" to it to make it plural. But to add an apostrophe "s" to it is an abomination.

It's "Eggs Benedict" and "Chicken Florentine".

Not only that, but the Ocean City group who writes the informational brochures can't spell or proofread, either. They wrote "everyday" instead of "every day". One statement said, "Everday is [an adventure]...". And, they had a list of daily events: Monday's...Tuesday's...Wednesday's...

I used to go to Ocean City a lot and it's lost its allure.

TV Theme Song Composer and Andy Griffith Show "Whistler" Dies

Wed, 28 May 2008 11:27:37 GMT

I saw this story on AOL news about Earle Hagen: "...whose folksy whistling follows Andy and Opie Griffith on their stroll around Mayberry in 'The Andy Griffith Show,' died of natural causes at age 88."

The names, as all TV buffs know, are Andy and Opie Taylor. A reader caught the mistake but proceeded to put a foot in his or her mouth: "Like the PROOF READER of this story should have know it was NOT OPIE GRIFFITH BUT OPIE TAYLOR..."

Well, first, proofreader is one word. Second, "...should have know..."?

By the way, did you know that while Hagen wrote the theme music to the Dick Van Dyke Show, Morey Amsterdam wrote the lyrics? Yes, there really are lyrics. I'll find them and post them here.

I Love My AOL, however...

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 15:31:50 GMT

Amazing Lungless Frog Discovered
Animal Can Breath Through Its Skin!

Frogs, as well as other living creatures, do not "breath". They breathe!

Grammar Watch: Are you a better speller than a fifth grader?

Sat, 29 Mar 2008 20:41:13 GMT

The one and only time I watched that "fifth grader" show, I heard a question about a fort in North Carolina. The fort is Sumter, but the fifth grader spelled it "Sumpter". And what's worse, the host pronounced it "Sumpter", too!

Item for sale from an illiterate

Sun, 23 Mar 2008 12:34:17 GMT

Offered:
"Have a dvd player i can get it working if someone can fixed may have or wants for parts."

Book Review

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 14:59:08 GMT

I read John Grisham's The Innocent Man in just a few days. I loved it. However, throughout the book, I had the feeling that I was watching Mr. Grisham defend a client, and not tell a story. I would be interested in reading about the same case written by John Glatt, my favorite true crime writer.

I was also struck by the many times Mr. Grisham used the word "anxious" when he meant "eager".

I read other reviews of the book. This is from a site that allows readers to review books and refer to themselves as "Resident Scholar". Here is a tidbit by one of the resident scholars, she said sarcastically:

"Because he was known as a strange character around town that partyied alot and wandered the streets late at night as well as living close to the victim he was the easiest suspect for the local polic to focus their efforts on.”

Dana Riedberger, Resident Scholar

Dana, you ain't no scholar

Michael Harris, a writer for something I found online called The Times, wrote a review about the book in October 2006. In his review, he wrote the title of the book in quotes instead of italics.

Here is another review. Again, the title is in quotation marks instead of italics. And, the title is incorrect. It’s The Innocent Man, not “An Innocent Man”. Notice the lack of comma before “which was filled with inaccuracies”. Either put in a comma, or change “which” to “that”!

Book Review: John Grisham’s “An Innocent Man”

Posted on December 31, 2006 by Bryan Scrafford

I have always been a big fan of John Grisham’s writing and legal thrillers in general, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that I received Grisham’s newest book, “An Innocent Man,” for Christmas. “An Innocent Man” is about two men who were convicted of a murder that they didn’t commit. Based upon an extremely coerced confession which was filled with inaccuracies and was immediately reneged...

I am writing to hope to find a way to end passivity in writing

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 14:13:23 GMT

This was from a cover letter I found in our office mail:

I am writing to apply for a position

Get to the point!

Write "I am applying for...". You don't have to say "I am writing...". We already KNOW you are writing!

Physical, no verbal, no it was physical, no I'm sure it was verbal...

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 15:09:57 GMT

This was on a disciplinary summary:

“In accordance with this section of the law, your child has been temporarily suspended for minor physical altercation (verbal).”

So...was it a physical altercation or a verbal one????

February Ranting and Raving Session

Fri, 29 Feb 2008 11:26:51 GMT

Hello Readers! I can't believe I let almost an entire month pass without my annual rant and rave session. Before I begin, is it: "I can't believe I let almost..."? Or is it: "I can't believe I almost let..."? I get that that type of language usage confused sometimes. I'm still dealing with the "to boldly go" is incorrect and "to go boldly" is correct statement from Star Trek!

In honor of my birthday, which is February 27, I will list all my language pet peeves.

1. It's pronounced FebRUary, not FebUary. Think of February being a cold month - FeBRRRRRuary.

2. You don't pronounce the "t" in "often", just like you wouldn't pronounce the "t" in "soften".

3. It's "right of way", not "right away".

4. The "blank and I" rule has nothing to do with putting "I" after another person's name. It has to do with what comes before and after a verb. So, Michelle and I were invited to the party. However, Peter invited Michelle and me to the party. Please stop asking, "Would you like to go with Michelle and I?" Would you ask, "Would you like to go with I"? Heck no!

5. Where is it at? No. Please don't end a sentence with a preposition. It's "Where is it?" Not "Where's it at?"

6. Myself. Why do people keep misusing this reflective pronoun? Just use the word "myself" if you have the word "I" before it. I see myself winning a Pulitzer Prize for a play I shall write someday. Not "Winning a Pulitzer Prize for a play would be a great thing for myself."

7. "Everyday" is one word ONLY when used as an adjective. "I daydream at work every day." "Daydreaming at work is an everyday event for me."

8. Only roast beef is done. You are finished with your project. You are not done with the project, or even worse, you are not done the project.

9. Badly. "I want to hug you badly" means that I want to hug you with maybe, oh I don't know, a foot or a finger - or in an otherwise sloppy way. "Badly" describes exactly HOW you want to do something. I used to be an excellent speller. I'd win spelling bees and get 100s on spelling tests. Now, I spell badly.

10. Hopefully. "Hopefully, the door is unlocked." Is the door full of hope? Nope. How about this - "I hope that the door is unlocked."

11. "Drug" is NOT the past tense of "drag"!

Well, that's it for this year. I'd like to leave you with an interesting exercise that a copyediting instructor used. If you are writing a formal document and you want to be concise, try writing without using the word "of". It's a challenge!

Oh, and for those who object to constant uses of contractions, I really didn't want to do that! I just got into this habit. And I'm the first person to change contractions to their longer forms in a document. It's too informal - this usage. But I can't stop! I can't!

Funky Winkerbean, revisited

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 15:06:04 GMT

Funky did it again. I'd written earlier about my disappointment with my favorite cartoons. Baby Blues referred to a turtle as an amphibian. And, Pearls Before Swine (in my opinion, the most clever - well, ok, not MOST, but sharing the spotlight with Rhymes with Orange) had characters saying, "Alright", instead of the correct "All right".

Well, in Funky Winkerbean, there is a character named Les. If you need to make a word possessive, and that word ends in "s", it's correct to put apostrophe s. The writer had a character say something like "It's his and Les' thing." This is incorrect. It should be "It's his and Les's thing." I know it might look funny, but it's correct.

My boss's outfits are beautiful.